Former teacher’s sexual assault convictions upheld on appeal

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Court of Appeal dismissed a former teacher’s appeal against his convictions for attempted anal rape and sexual assault on 10 July 2026. Presiding judge Tara Burns said the court rejected all the grounds advanced.

A Central Criminal Court jury convicted the man on 22 December 2023 of one count of attempted anal rape and eight counts of sexual assault involving six men. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The offences occurred in Dublin between March 1991 and November 1997, when he was a teacher. The victims were aged between 17 and 24; four were his students or former students.

On 31 May 2024, Mr Justice Alexander Owens imposed an effective global sentence of five years and nine months, with 21 months suspended under strict conditions, leaving four years in custody. The man was also subject to a two-year post-release supervision order.

At trial, the man said he initially lied to gardaí because of shame and fear of being charged. He acknowledged sexual activity with three complainants: he said the activity with two was consensual and that he mistakenly believed the third had consented. He denied attempting anal sex with the third man.

His appeal argued that the trial judge’s directions were confusing and weighted against the defence. The court rejected that challenge, along with arguments concerning the joint trial and the warning about lies told by a defendant.